A MAN accused of murdering his former lover refused to continue giving evidence at his trial yesterday.

Peter Davies, 50, of Bryn Garmon, Mold, had given evidence for two hours on Wednesday at the start of his defence case.

But as the case was due to restart at Chester Crown Court yesterday, Davies, who denies murdering his partner of 10 years Kerry Edwards, 39, refused to re-take the stand to give further evidence.

Davies is claiming a defence of diminished responsibility.

Judge Elgan Edwards told the jury it would be for them to decide whether they drew any adverse inference from the failure to give evidence.

The case continued with Davies' sister, Ann Davies, of Mold, whom Davies stayed with when he left the home he shared with Kerry Edwards in Rhydymwyn in June last year.

She described how her brother was very depressed and taking anti-depressant and sleeping tablets. She felt her brother was suicidal and told how the whole family was devastated by Kerry's death.

"I loved my brother, I also loved Kerry," she said.

But Winston Roddick QC, prosecuting, said: "Were you not cautioned by the police in connection with this because you put your heads together as a family to give a false story about where your brother was on July 31?".

Davies stopped Kerry Edwards at 8am on July 31 as she was driving towards Mold.

He walked up to the open driver's window in her car and stabbed her four times.

After the killing, he hid in woodland nearby until about 8pm while a huge police search was mounted.

He gave himself up some hours later.

"Yes, but we didn't do it maliciously," said Ms Davies. She told how armed police had arrived at her house to look for her brother, terrifying her eight-year-old daughter and making her hysterical.

Davies was at his sister Sheila's house. To avoid the same thing happening there, they misdirected police to his former wife Tina's house, while Sheila persuaded her brother to give himself up.

An expert consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Lawrence Chesterman said Davies ' depression would have a "more than trivial impact" on the defendant's behaviour.